Rifle action with blind pocket for mechanical type case ejector

ABSTRACT

A rifle action for a firearm includes a receiver, a breech bolt and a mechanical case ejector. The receiver has a receiver bore, a first sidewall with an opening for ejecting shell casings, and a second sidewall with a blind pocket on a side facing the receiver bore. The ejector is rotatably mounted by a pin that extends vertically between top and bottom surfaces of the blind pocket. The ejector has a base that fits into the blind pocket and a finger that extends into the receiver bore. The ejector has a first position in which the finger is located out of a path of movement of the breech bolt, and a second position in which the finger extends into a path of movement of the breech bolt upon rearward movement of the bolt to eject shell casings from the receiver bore. The blind pocket can be formed by EDM.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates in general to rifle actions for firearms and, in particular, to rifle actions having mechanical type case ejectors.

Description of the Related Art

A bolt action rifle requires an ejection system to throw an extracted case from the action. There are various kinds of ejection systems, including plunger-style ejectors located in the bolt face, and ejectors rotatably mounted to the receiver.

The Model 1903 Springfield rifle used an ejector rotatably mounted in a slot formed through the sidewall of the receiver. The Springfield ejector includes a steel blade that freely pivots on a steel pin mounted in the sidewall of the receiver. As the bolt of the rifle action is moved rearward, the ejector pivots into place through a slot in the bolt face and hits the shell case, causing the case to be thrown from the action.

There is a need for a rifle action with an improved ejector system that does not require an additional opening through the sidewall of the receiver.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a rifle action that minimizes the amount of cuts through the receiver for improved aesthetics, handling and dust and dirt rejection.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a rifle action having a receiver with a blind pocket on an inside surface for housing a mechanical type case ejector without a cut through to the outside of the receiver.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of making a receiver for a rifle action with a blind pocket using an Electrical Discharge Machining (“EDM”) process.

To accomplish these and other objects of the present invention, a rifle action for a firearm includes a receiver, a breech bolt and a mechanical case ejector. The receiver has a receiver bore, a first sidewall with an opening for ejecting shell casings, and a second sidewall with a blind pocket on a side of the sidewall facing the receiver bore. The ejector is rotatably mounted by a pin that extends vertically between top and bottom surfaces of the blind pocket. The ejector has a base that fits into the blind pocket and a finger that extends into the receiver bore. The ejector has a first position in which the finger is located out of a path of movement of the breech bolt, and a second position in which the finger extends into a path of movement of the breech bolt upon rearward movement of the bolt to eject shell casings from the receiver bore. The blind pocket can be formed by an EDM process.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a firearm is provided, comprising: a receiver having a receiver bore extending therethrough, and first and second sidewalls on opposite sides of the receiver bore, the first sidewall having an opening for ejecting shell casings, and the second sidewall having a blind pocket which is open on a side facing the receiver bore and closed on a side facing away from the receiver bore; a breech bolt supported in the receiver bore between the first and second sidewalls for reciprocal movement longitudinally into and out of breech closing position; and a mechanical case ejector rotatably mounted in the blind pocket.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a receiver for a bolt action firearm is provided, comprising: an integral machined structure having a receiver bore extending therethrough for receiving a breech bolt, a first sidewall having an ejection opening for ejecting shell casings, and a second sidewall on an opposite side of the receiver bore from the ejection opening. The integral machined structure has a blind pocket formed in the second sidewall for receiving a mechanical case ejector.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of making a receiver for a bolt action firearm is provided, comprising: providing an integral structure having a receiver bore for receiving a breech bolt, a first sidewall having an ejection opening for ejecting shell casings, and a second sidewall on an opposite side of the receiver bore from the ejection opening; and forming a blind pocket in the second sidewall for receiving a mechanical case ejector.

Numerous other objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description wherein there is shown and described example embodiments of the present invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modification in various obvious aspects without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more clearly appreciated as the disclosure of the present invention is made with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a bolt action firearm equipped with a rifle action according to the present invention, with the breech bolt in a locked forward position.

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the bolt action firearm shown in FIG. 1, with the breech bolt in an open rearward position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bolt action firearm shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the breech bolt in an open rearward position.

FIG. 4 is a detail perspective view of the portion of the firearm indicated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the rifle action separate from the rest of the firearm.

FIG. 6 is a detail perspective view of the portion of the rifle action indicated in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the parts of the rifle action shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is an assembled perspective view of the receiver and ejector of the rifle action with the breech bolt removed.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the receiver and ejector of the rifle action.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the ejector.

FIGS. 11 to 15 illustrate the ejector in plan view, front view, right side view, rear view and left side view, respectively.

FIG. 16 is an assembled perspective view showing a left side of the rifle action.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of the rifle action with the breech bolt in a rearward position.

FIG. 18 is a side view of the rifle action shown in FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a detail view showing the part of the rifle action indicated in FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a cutaway cross section view of the rifle action showing the ejector position when the breech bolt is in its forward locked position.

FIG. 21 is a detail view showing the part of the rifle action indicated in FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is a cutaway cross section view of the rifle action showing the ejector position when the breech olt is in its open rearward position.

FIG. 23 is a detail view showing the part of the rifle action indicated in FIG. 22.

FIGS. 24 to 28 illustrate the movement and positions of the ejector as the breech bolt moves rearwardly in the receiver.

FIGS. 29 to 33 illustrate the EDM process used to make the blind pocket in the sidewall of the receiver.

FIGS. 34 to 37 illustrate the EDM electrode in right side view, plan view, left side view and end view, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A rifle action 10 having a blind pocket 11 for housing and mounting a mechanical type case ejector 12 according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 37 of the accompanying drawings.

A bolt action rifle 13 equipped with the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4. The rifle 13 includes a butt 14, a stock 15, a trigger guard 16, a trigger 17, a magazine 18, a fore stock 19, a barrel 20, a mounting rail 21, and a muzzle 22. A breech 23 is provided in the rear part of the barrel 20. The rifle 13 also includes the rifle action 10 for loading, locking, firing, and extracting cartridges from the breech 23.

The rifle action 10 includes a receiver 24, a breech bolt 25, a bolt handle 26, a firing pin 27, an extractor 28, a bolt stop 29, and the ejector 12. The rifle action 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1 with the breech bolt 25 and bolt handle 26 in their locked forward position for firing a cartridge, and in FIGS. 2 to 4 with the breech bolt 25 and bolt handle 26 in their rearward position for ejecting a spent cartridge. In operation, the bolt handle 26 is rotated from its locked firing position to unlock the bolt 25, the bolt 25 is slid rearward to open the breech 23, the spent cartridge case is withdrawn and ejected, the firing pin 27 is cocked, a new cartridge is placed into the breech 23, and the bolt 25 is closed and rotated back to its locked firing position.

The rifle action 10 is illustrated separate from the rest of the gun 13 in FIGS. 5 to 7, and the receiver 24 and ejector 12 are illustrated separate from the rest of the gun 13 in FIGS. 8 and 9.

The receiver 24 is an integral machined structure having a receiver bore 30 and first and second sidewalls 31, 32 on opposite sides of the receiver bore 30. The breech bolt 25 is supported in the receiver bore 30 between the first and second sidewalls 31, 32 for reciprocal movement longitudinally into and out of a breech closing position.

The first sidewall 31 of the receiver has an opening 33 for ejecting shell casings. The opening 33 extends circumferentially partway around the receiver bore 30 to form a large enough opening that cartridges can be loaded and ejected through the opening 33.

The second sidewall 32 of the receiver 24 has an elongated bolt stop opening 34 for mounting the bolt stop 29, as illustrated in FIGS. 16 to 19. The bolt stop 29 functions to provide a rear abutment stop to prevent the breech bolt 25 from accidentally falling out of the rear end 36 of the receiver 24. The bolt stop 29 can be moved to an unlocked position by a user to remove the bolt 25 from the receiver 24.

As illustrated, the bolt stop opening 34 extends completely through the second sidewall 32 so that the bolt stop 29 is visible on the outer surface of the receiver 24. The bolt stop 29 is pivotally mounted in the bolt stop opening 34 by a pivot pin (not shown). The pivot pin extends through a vertical bore in the receiver 24. A lower end 37 of the vertical bore is open on an outer surface of the receiver 24 below the bolt stop opening 34. The pivot pin for the bolt stop 29 can be inserted through the open lower end 37 of the vertical bore to pivotally mount the bolt stop 29 in the bolt stop opening 34.

The second sidewall 32 of the receiver 24 also has the blind pocket 11 which is open on a side of the second sidewall 32 facing the receiver bore 30 and closed on a side facing away from the receiver bore 30. The blind pocket 11 in the illustrated embodiment is located in the second sidewall 32 forward of the bolt stop opening 34 and rearward of the opening 33 in the first sidewall 31 for ejecting shell casings. The blind pocket 11 has a top surface 38, a bottom surface 39, a front side 40, and a rear side 41.

The ejector 12 is a mechanical case ejector which is rotatably mounted in the blind pocket 11. The ejector 12 is illustrated by itself in FIGS. 10 to 15. The ejector 12 functions to engage an empty cartridge case and eject the case through the opening 33 from the receiver 24 when the breech bolt 25 is fully retracted.

The ejector 12 includes a base 42 that fits into the blind pocket 11, a finger 43 that extends from the base 42 into the receiver bore 30, and a pivot axis that corresponds with a hole 44 extending vertically through the base 42. A pin 45 extends vertically through the blind pocket 11 between the top and bottom surfaces 38, 39 and through the hole 44 in the ejector 12. The pin 45 is mounted in a vertical bore hole 46. The vertical bore hole 46 is open on an outer surface of the receiver 24 below the blind pocket 11. The pin 45 can be inserted through the open lower end 47 of the vertical bore hole 46 to pivotally mount the ejector 12 in the blind pocket 11.

The ejector 12 has a first position (illustrated in FIGS. 20 and 21) in which the finger 43 of the case ejector 12 is located out of a path of movement of the breech bolt 25, and a second position (illustrated in FIGS. 22 and 23) in which the finger 43 extends into the path of movement of the breech bolt 25 to engage and eject a shell casing from the receiver bore 30. The ejector 12 is arranged to move from the first position to the second position upon rearward movement of the breech bolt 25 within the receiver bore 30 of the receiver 24.

The finger 43 of the ejector 12 is substantially thinner in a vertical direction than the base 42. The breech bolt 25 has a front face 48 with a slot 49 formed therein. The ejector 12 is arranged so that the finger 43 extends into the slot 49 in the front face 48 of the bolt 25 when the case ejector 12 is in the second position (FIGS. 22 and 23).

FIGS. 24 to 28 illustrate the movement of the ejector 12 as the bolt 25 moves rearwardly in the receiver 24. In FIG. 24, the ejector 12 is in its first position with the bolt 25 in its forward position with the breech 23 closed. In FIG. 25, the bolt 25 has moved rearwardly, and the ejector 12 is still in its first position. In FIGS. 26 and 27, the bolt 25 has moved further rearwardly, the base 42 of the ejector 12 is engaged by the head 50 of the bolt 25, and the finger 43 of the ejector 12 has started to move into the receiver bore 30 through the slot 49 in the front face 48 of the bolt 25. In FIG. 28, the ejector 12 is in its second position with the finger 43 extending into the receiver bore 30 into the path of movement of the breech bolt 25 to engage and eject a shell casing C from the receiver bore 30.

The blind pocket 11 has a surface profile that corresponds in shape to an outer profile of the base 42 of the case ejector 12. The base 42 of the case ejector 12 has a front portion 51 and a rear portion 52, and the pivot axis 44 is located between the front and rear portions 51, 52. When the case ejector 12 is in its first position (FIGS. 20, 21 and 24), the front portion 51 of the base 42 nests in a front part 53 of the blind pocket 11. When the case ejector 12 is in its second position (FIGS. 22, 23 and 28), the rear portion 52 of the base 42 nests within a rear part 54 of the blind pocket 11.

As explained above, the receiver 24 of the present invention is preferably made as an integral machined structure having the receiver bore 30 and the first and second sidewalls 31, 32. The blind pocket 11 in the second sidewall 32 can be formed by an EDM process. The EDM process is illustrated in FIGS. 29 to 33, and an electrode 55 for the EDM process is illustrated in FIGS. 34 to 37.

The EDM process includes passing the electrode 55 through the ejection opening 33 and across the receiver bore 30 to the second sidewall 32 to form the blind pocket 11 in the second sidewall 32. The electrode 55 has a tip 56 with a shape corresponding to a predetermined shape of the blind pocket 11. The blind pocket 11 is formed rearward of the ejection opening 33 by angling the electrode 55 rearwardly through the ejection opening 33 and across the receiver bore 30 to the second sidewall 32.

The blind pocket 11 formed by the EDM process has top and bottom surfaces 38, 39. The vertical bore hole 46 is formed in the second sidewall 32, either before or after the EDM process, to mount the pivot pin 45 for the ejector 12. The vertical bore hole 46 passes through the top and bottom surfaces 38, 39 of the blind pocket 11. The lower part 47 of the vertical bore hole 46 is open to an outer surface of the receiver 24 to provide an access opening for inserting the pin 45 into the vertical bore hole 46.

The present invention has been illustrated in connection with a rifle 13 set up for right-handed shooting. However, it will be appreciated that various parts of the invention can be reversed for setting up a rifle for left-handed shooting. For example, the ejection opening in the sidewall of the receiver can be moved to the left-hand sidewall, and the blind pocket and ejector can be provided in the right-hand sidewall to set up a rifle for left-handed shooting.

Other processes can be used to form the blind pocket 11 in the sidewall 31 of the receiver 24. For example, an EDM electrode could be inserted in the receiver 24 through the back opening and a sideward motion used to form the blind pocket 11. For another example, other machining technologies, such as electrochemical machining (“ECM”), can be used to form the blind pocket 11.

While the invention has been specifically described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration and not of limitation, and the scope of the appended claims should be construed as broadly as the prior art will permit. 

1. A firearm comprising: a receiver comprising an integral machined structure having a receiver bore extending therethrough, and first and second sidewalls on opposite sides of said receiver bore, said first sidewall having an opening for ejecting shell casings, and said second sidewall having a blind pocket which is open on a side facing said receiver bore and closed on a side facing away from said receiver bore, wherein said blind pocket comprises a top surface, a bottom surface, and front and rear sides, wherein said blind pocket is located completely within said integral machined structure, and wherein said blind pocket is closed on said front and rear sides; a breech bolt supported in the receiver bore between said first and second sidewalls for reciprocal movement longitudinally into and out of breech closing position; and a mechanical case ejector rotatably mounted in said blind pocket.
 2. The firearm according to claim 1, wherein said blind pocket is located in said second sidewall rearward of said opening in said first sidewall.
 3. (canceled)
 4. The firearm according to claim 3, wherein said case ejector is rotatably mounted by a pin that extends vertically through said blind pocket between said top and bottom surfaces.
 5. The firearm according to claim 1, wherein said case ejector comprises a base that fits into said blind pocket, a finger that extends from said base into said receiver bore, and a pivot axis that extends vertically through said base.
 6. The firearm according to claim 5, wherein said case ejector has a first position in which said finger of said case ejector is located out of a path of movement of said breech bolt, and a second position in which said finger extends into a path of movement of said breech bolt to engage and eject a shell casing from said receiver bore.
 7. The firearm according to claim 6, wherein said case ejector is arranged to move from said first position to said second position upon rearward movement of said breech bolt within the receiver bore of said receiver.
 8. The firearm according to claim 7, wherein said blind pocket has a surface profile that corresponds in shape to an outer profile of a base of said case ejector so that a front portion of said base nests in a front part of said blind pocket when the case ejector is in said first position, and a rear portion of said base nests within a rear part of said blind pocket when the case ejector is in said second position.
 9. The firearm according to claim 6, wherein said finger is substantially thinner in a vertical direction than said base, said breech bolt has a front face with a slot, and said case ejector is arranged so that said finger extends into said slot when the case ejector is in said second position.
 10. The firearm according to claim 6, wherein said base of said case ejector has a front portion and a rear portion and said pivot axis is located between said front and rear portions, and said front portion of said base nests within a front part of said blind pocket when the case ejector is in said second position, and said rear portion of said base nests within a rear part of said blind pocket when the case ejector is in said first position.
 11. A receiver for a bolt action firearm, comprising: an integral machined structure having a receiver bore extending therethrough for receiving a breech bolt, a first sidewall having an ejection opening for ejecting shell casings, and a second sidewall on an opposite side of the receiver bore from said ejection opening; and said integral machined structure having a blind pocket formed in said second sidewall for receiving a mechanical case ejector; wherein said blind pocket comprises a top surface, a bottom surface, and front and rear sides, wherein said blind pocket is located completely within said integral machined structure, and wherein said blind pocket is open on a side facing said receiver bore, closed on a side facing away from said receiver bore, and closed on said front and rear sides.
 12. (canceled)
 13. The receiver according to claim 12, wherein said blind pocket has bore holes in the top and bottom surfaces for receiving a pin for rotatably mounting the case ejector.
 14. A method of making a receiver for a bolt action firearm, comprising: providing an integral structure having a receiver bore for receiving a breech bolt, a first sidewall having an ejection opening for ejecting shell casings, and a second sidewall on an opposite side of the receiver bore from said ejection opening; and forming a blind pocket in said second sidewall for receiving a mechanical case ejector, wherein said blind pocket comprises a top surface, a bottom surface, and front and rear sides, wherein said blind pocket is located completely within said integral structure, and wherein said blind pocket is open on a side facing said receiver bore, closed on a side facing away from said receiver bore, and closed on said front and rear sides.
 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein said blind pocket is formed by electrical discharge machining.
 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein said electrical discharge machining comprises passing an electrode through said ejection opening and across said receiver bore to said second sidewall to form said blind pocket in said second sidewall.
 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein said electrode has a tip with a shape corresponding to a predetermined shape of said blind pocket.
 18. The method according to claim 16, wherein said blind pocket is formed rearward of said ejection opening by angling said electrode rearwardly through said ejection opening and across said receiver bore.
 19. The method according to claim 14, wherein said blind pocket comprises top and bottom surfaces, and further comprising forming a vertical bore hole in said second sidewall that passes through the top and bottom surfaces of the blind pocket for receiving a pin for rotatably mounting the case ejector.
 20. The method according to claim 19, wherein a lower part of said vertical bore hole is open to an outer surface of said receiver to provide an access opening for inserting a pin into said vertical bore hole to rotatably mount the case ejector in said blind pocket. 